Gaping Gill

First explored by the pioneering French speleologist and celebrated caver Édouard-Alfred Martel in 1895,
Gaping Gill is a famous pothole on the limestone moors flanking
Ingleborough
just above
Clapdale
and the village of
Clapham
in the
"Three Peaks"
area of the
Yorkshire Dales.

Situated at the bottom of a large crater, Gaping Gill is a yawning abyss which engulfs Fell Beck,
the stream crashing down into a cathedral sized main chamber in what is probably
Britain's
highest unbroken waterfall.
[N.B. The highest unbroken waterfall on the surface is claimed to be
Hardraw Force
in nearby
Wensleydale.]

A network of tunnels lead off from the main chamber
(connecting with other potholes in the area - including
Bar Pot
and Disappointment Pot),
with the stream eventually reappearing as Clapham Beck at
Beck Head Cave
a short distance from the main (dry) entrance of
Ingleborough Cave
in
Clapdale.
Although this was proven by florescent dye tests many years ago it was only in the 1980s
that the connection was finally discovered by cave divers.

At 365ft deep the main shaft and main chamber of Gaping Gill are obviously extremely dangerous, and their
exploration is usually available only to experienced potholers. On some bank holiday weekends, however,
local caving clubs set up a special platform and
winch
which for a fee lowers intrepid members of the
public into this yawning abyss.